There are plenty of reasons to become a marketing manager. THey make good money, have an excellent rate of job growth, often have flexible schedules, and can experience quick career progression. Of course, new marketing managers may feel overwhelmed at first, but there are things that you can do to ensure your first days on the job are successful. 

Understand That You’ll Need To Lead a Team

Knowing how to lead a team is one of the most important parts of being a successful marketing manager. Before you can succeed, you’ll need to have a leader’s mindset. This means listening to your team as a whole as well as getting to know each person on an individual level. Provide your team with the resources it needs to thrive on the job, create a culture in which your team feels comfortable providing feedback (even if it’s negative) and create a plan for navigating through any changes that are being made. Remember, part of running a team is being a referee when things get heated. Negotiation training is an excellent way to learn how to communicate effectively and help others do the same.

Keep Yourself Knowledgeable About Your Company, Its Customers, and Its Competitors

Being a good marketing manager requires you to maintain ongoing knowledge about your company, your customers, and your competitors. Research and read about your company to learn it from the inside out. Learn about the company’s vision and its overall mission, as this will help you to set your goals. Look at how their previous marketing strategies fared against the competition’s and with their intended audience in general. Focus also on the company’s sales cycles, its existing marketing channels, and what tools the company can use to further its reach. 

It isn’t just about the company and getting to know your team, though. You also need to know your customers and the competition. Who is your company’s current customer base and what do currently retained customers have in common? Where do the customers have issues that cause them to stop spending money? Consider taking support calls, which is an excellent way to learn what they like, don’t like, and expect from the business. Learning about your competition is important as well. Determine what your competitor’s marketing strategies are, where they’re working, and where you could tweak them to make them better for your own company. An excellent way to do this is to check out their social media presence and online marketing campaigns.   

Keep an Arsenal of the Best Marketing Tools

An excellent marketer needs to have the best tools at his or her fingertips. Start with audio and visual design. You’ll need some basic design skills but you don’t need to do anything too fancy. There is a variety of online design applications that are easy to use even for someone who has no knowledge of graphic design. The same can be said for video.

Analytics is just as important as design. Google Analytics is an excellent platform that allows you to track customer habits, measure your return on investment in advertising, and even track your social networking applications. There are several other important tools to consider as well.

• Content Marketing Tools – Content marketing platforms allow you to blog, create web pages, use widgets, and build stores, often from a single tool. You’ll also need marketing tools that help you with editing and proofreading as well as ensuring you keep your posting schedule on track.
• SEO – Search engine optimization is a requirement if you want your company’s website, blog, or online shop to continue ranking at the top of search engine results pages. You’ll need to track and rank your keywords, analyze backlinks, and more with SEO tools.
• Email Marketing – There is still an opportunity for email marketing. Using the right platform will allow you to integrate your campaigns, track insights, and personalize your message to your customers.
• Social Media Marketing – Your company likely has multiple social media platforms. The right social media content management tools allow you to schedule posts, track data, interact with followers, and much more.

With the right tools, the right attitude, and the right amount of knowledge, you’ll be much more likely to be successful at your new job. Remember, though, nobody is perfect. If you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself. Just try again!